Driver Gets 5 Years In I-5 Fatality

A driver who hit and killed a 27-year-old Seattle man who was helping a friend on Interstate 5 was sentenced to five years and one month in prison.

Vernon D. McHenry, 33, had been drinking prior to the Sept. 29 incident, and had a history of traffic violations.

He was convicted Friday of hitting Norman Drosdahl and two parked cars near the Mercer Street onramp in Seattle.

Drosdahl and a friend had driven to the freeway to help another friend, whose car had a flat tire.

Drosdahl was standing at the side of the road when McHenry’s car hit him and crashed into the disabled car and a Washington State Patrol trooper’s car. The trooper also had stopped to help. Two others, including the trooper, were injured.

McHenry pleaded guilty earlier this year to vehicular homicide, vehicular assault and felony hit-and-run.